CSPC 2020 – Strengthening Innovation and Productivity

Pre – Conference Day 5 – November 20th 2020

Organized by: MEOPAR

Panelists:

Kathryn Moran – President and CEO, Ocean Networks Canada
Sara Iverson – Scientific Director, Ocean Tracking Network, Dalhousie University
Marcel Babin – Canada Excellence Research Chair, Takuvik International Research Laboratory, Université Laval and CRNS
Paul Snelgrove – Professor of Ocean Sciences and Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Doug Wallace – Scientific Director, MEOPAR Network of Centres of Excellence
Jennifer Vollrath – National Manager, Science Assets and Infrastructure, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Claire Samson – Vice President, Programs and Planning, Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)

Context: The panel brought together leaders of the three ocean-related CFI supported Major Science Initiatives as well as an experienced manager of DFO’s national infrastructure. The panel also included two PIs of national research networks and a representative from CFI, Canada’s major funder of research infrastructure funding. Collectively, the panel represented more than half-a-century of experience of management of major infrastructure and research networks in Canada. The panel provided a rare opportunity for policy recommendations arising from extensive hands-on experience to be presented and discussed together. There was notable convergence of opinion and general agreement on recommendations.

Takeaways:

• Major research infrastructures provide valuable opportunities to aggregate Canada’s otherwise geographically-scattered and sometimes siloed research expertise to tackle complex problems. They also provide value to multiple sectors of society, as well as training grounds for the next generation of researchers, and position Canada to be a global leader in ocean science.
• Structured funding models that support not only the acquisition, operation and maintenance of infrastructure but also support researchers to access and use it, are the key to maximizing their value and effectiveness. The Ocean Tracking Network’s experience with a one-time paired funding model involving CFI, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council allowed them to establish global leadership for Canadian science and maximize the return on the infrastructure investment.
• Multisectoral partnerships can be of great value for acquisition, operation and maintenance of major research infrastructures. Amundsen Science’s partnership with the Canadian Coast Guard is an example of how platforms that support government missions can be combined effectively with research use.
• Sustained funding of research infrastructures enables development of partnerships that extend far beyond the research community. For example, Ocean Networks Canada’s operation of research infrastructure has led to progressive development of user communities that now include coastal communities, industry, governments and indigenous communities in addition to researchers. However, development of these partnerships requires long-term, sustained funding.
• In the case of research vessels, their cost and the potential for shared use requires multisectoral and long-term planning, as is common in many other countries. MEOPAR has established the National Research Vessel Task Team, with broad membership, to promote this at the Canadian national scale. 
• DFO also recognizes the value of a coordinated approach to infrastructure and recently launched the Canadian Ocean Infrastructure Portal. The COIP provides a national approach to coordinate access to and optimize the use of large-scale ocean infrastructure. The initial phase of development of this online tool aims to: 1) facilitate and standardize the annual ship time application process on Canadian Coast Guard science ships; 2) optimize the ship scheduling process; and 3) inform the ocean science community and promote collaboration by disseminating scheduled for science missions at-sea.
• National research and training networks have proven valuable for overcoming barriers to shared use of research infrastructures. Several examples were presented of how national networks have combined with infrastructure programs and delivered major success. These examples have to date usually been topic-, discipline- or infrastructure-specific. The experience of ArcticNet and MEOPAR is that the Network of Centres of Excellence model, with a time-horizon of 15 years, was well matched to this task.

Actions:

• Specifically for support of Canada’s research in the Arctic, there is now an urgent need to plan for replacement of the CCGS Amundsen whose lifetime is unlikely to extend beyond 10 years. Existing plans for icebreaker construction could usefully be aligned to meet this need.
• The widespread dependence on provincial contributions for matching funds creates significant challenges in some region that risks insufficient leveraging to support development infrastructures of national or global significance. A regular workshop or communications program to highlight the broad value of research infrastructures for diverse partners and sectors would help broaden the range of users and financial supporters.
• Closure of the NCE program implies the need to develop a new model and funding instrument. Such a model should connect the broad range of sectors involved in Canadian ocean research. One possibility would be to empower (and fund) the Ocean Research in Canada Alliance (ORCA) to fulfill this role. However the present configuration of ORCA, with very limited personnel and funds, is insufficient to tackle these gap by itself.
• The panelists agreed that it makes sense to tackle challenges together and initiate a joint dialogue with policymakers in order that pathways forward can be crafted based on collective experience. The panel suggested that recommendations arising from the operation of the research infrastructures and related networks should be communicated to the policymakers responsible for science funding, including the Canada Research Coordination Committee.